State: Provider used excessive force

September 18, 2008|By Scott Waltman, swaltman@aberdeennews.com

A former day care provider used excessive force and injured a baby girl while changing the infant's diaper, Brown County state's attorney Kimberly Dorsett said during the opening day of a trial against an Aberdeen woman. Stacy L. Beck, 31, is charged with abuse or neglect of an infant. Her trial is scheduled to run through week's end. Beck was a worker at North Kiddie Korner Day Care. It's alleged that on Sept. 20, 2007, Beck tore or cut the baby's vaginal area while changing a messy diaper. Dorsett said the cut or tear caused extensive bleeding that resulted in the baby being flown by helicopter to a Sioux Falls hospital, where surgery was needed to stop the bleeding. The injury, Dorsett said, was not an accident and could not have been caused by casual wiping needed during routine diaper changes. Dorsett said that perhaps Beck got angry or lost her temper because the baby was restless. However Randy Turner, Beck's attorney, said that wasn't the case. Beck had worked taking care of people - at day care centers, at a nursing home and at a center for people with disabilities - for about 15 years and there had not been previous problems, he said. And, Turner said, Beck was not angry or stressed the day the baby was injured. Turner told the jury members they will have to determine intent. Beck's character traits will show that she is not somebody who would intentionally harm a child, Turner said. The baby's mother testified that she bathed and dressed the girl the morning of Sept. 20, and that the baby had no injuries. And, the mother said, the tear was not the result of a previous injury. Beck's 13-person jury was selected Wednesday morning. There are eight women and five men. One of the people is an alternate juror. A unanimous decision is needed for a conviction. Judge Jack Von Wald is presiding over the trial. Abuse or neglect of an infant is a felony punishable by as much as 15 years in state prison and a $30,000 fine.